Luke 24:13-35 - Recognizing Jesus

When I was about eight or nine, my sister and I thought we’d put one over on our parents. We had among our toys a box of dress up clothes and we thought that we’d use these clothes to disguise ourselves as each other. I’d dress up like my little sister and she’d dress up like me and we’d then go downstairs and they wouldn’t recognize us. I am happy to say that this was the first and last time I ever dressed up like a girl. So, we dressed up like each other and agreed that I would answer to her name and she would answer to mine. We even made sure to wear hats so that our hair wouldn’t give us away. We were sure that my parents wouldn’t catch on at all.

Oddly enough, not only did my parents not mistake us for each other, but they didn’t even get what it was that we were trying to do. My first practical joke was a failure. But it is good to know that I’m not the only one to try this type of practical joke. No, this kind of practical joke is, well, it’s as old as the Bible. And even Jesus decided to put one over on his disciples as we see in today’s scripture. You get the feeling that Jesus is having fun, that he’s playing games. He comes upon two of his disciples on the road and has himself disguised so that they don’t recognize him. But unlike my attempt with my sister, Jesus’ practical joke works and it isn’t until the end of the day that he has spent with them that they catch on, and it isn’t until dinnertime that they realize who it is that they are with, and suddenly this day that they had spent has all the more meaning to it.

I. On the road to Emmaus

In the scripture we read this morning we are introduced to a couple of the followers of Jesus who are traveling along the road to Emmaus. These travelers aren’t any of the twelve apostles, but rather other lesser known followers of Christ. We are given the name of one of them, Cleopas. The other one remains nameless. They are discussing the amazing things that they have just witnessed and heard of. They are trying to figure out what in the world is going on. They are trying to wrap their minds around the things that have happened. They had grown up reading the scriptures a certain way and understanding what it was the Messiah was about. And then they met and followed Jesus and had to throw out much of what it was that they believed about the Messiah.

Was the scripture that they had been reading their whole lives wrong? No. The truth was in the scripture… it had been there from the beginning, but their worldview… the things they had been taught… the things going on in the world around them caused them to interpret scripture in a certain way. And they interpreted it wrong. What they expected from God in the world around them is not what they got. And this frightened and confused them. It took revelation from God… it took God’s Word in the flesh for them to understand the words that they thought they knew so well.

So these two disciples, Cleopas and his friend, walk and discuss and they come upon a stranger who joins them in their walk. Now from the beginning we know something that they don’t, this stranger is the Word of God, himself. It is Jesus. But these two disciples, these two followers of Jesus are unable to recognize him. It is good to know that Jesus doesn’t only appear to the twelve (well actually eleven for they had lost Judas). He begins by appearing to the women, he then appears to Peter, and then he appears to these two as they walk on the road… two followers of Christ who we have not met before in scripture and who we don’t hear about again. Jesus didn’t need to go to the leaders of the church right away. When he first showed himself, it was to regular followers who were trying to figure him out.

So the stranger asks these two what it is they are talking about, what it is that troubles them. They respond by telling the stranger about the strange things that have happened in their lives. They talk about how this Jesus they had followed was a prophet who was powerful in word and deed. They talk about how he was handed over to death and crucifixion. They talk about their hope that was squashed at the crucifixion, this hope that Jesus might be the one who was going to redeem Israel. Then they talk about the fact that some of the women that are a part of their group are telling them a story that amazes them: that they went to the tomb and found it empty, that angels had told them that Jesus had risen.

What these two disciples on the way to Emmaus have to say is important. It shows what their experience has been of Jesus, it puts the resurrection in the context of their own lives. They talked about Jesus power in word and deed. They knew that these were signs of his being a prophet. Therefore, they knew that his words needed to be listened to; that his deeds needed to be watched. They tell you right out what their expectations were for Jesus, what they wanted Jesus to do for them. But the fact is that their expectations, their desires did not match up with what Jesus was really about.

You see, sometimes it isn’t enough to put the resurrection in the context of your own life, sometimes you need to look deeper and farther at what God has been doing, not just for you and those around you, but for the whole world, from the beginning of time to the end of time.

II. Putting it in context

And this is what happens next. The stranger, who they still don’t recognize, tells them how what has happened fits into the scripture and is actually the very thing that that they should have been expecting. Jesus opened up scripture to his disciples. He put the events that troubled them about what had happened the last few days into a much bigger context. He took them out of focusing on their own little world and brought them into seeing a bigger picture than they had probably ever imagined. Instead of coming just to redeem Israel, they discovered that Jesus came to redeem the whole world. Instead of just saving the people who followed him as he taught, he came to save people who will follow him from every generation and every people. Instead of merely speaking the words of God, Jesus was the Word of God. These disciples were unable to see the truth in the Scripture until God gave them inspiration. And they comment on the fact that in that inspiration, in that time as Jesus shares the word of God with his people, their hearts burned within them.

We like to talk about the inspired word of God, the Bible, our scripture. Yet it is possible to read the Bible without inspiration. It is possible to use the very word of God to bring harm to God’s kingdom. And this seems to happen when we forget to rely on God, and instead rely on our own understanding. When people take God’s word and use it to their own ends without allowing God to be present at their reading of scripture… this is a desecration of the very thing we hold so high.

Scripture is so much more than a place to go to find a text to back up a point that we want to make. This is what was done by the religious leaders of Jesus’ day… and they ended up killing Jesus because of it.

God honored these disciples in their desire to know the truth. They came with questions and God gave them answers. God gave them answers that transcended their culture, their teachings and their understanding.

As the disciples on the road to Emmaus searched for the truth the Word of God appeared to them, though they did not recognize him and answered the questions that they had. If they had tried playing games with him they would not have listened. If they had argued with him, they would not have listened. If they had held onto their own pre-conceived notions… they would not have listened. Instead, they humbly listened to the Word of God, and found truth.

On that road to Emmaus these disciples recognized truth and they recognized wisdom. They knew as scripture was being revealed to them that something special was happening. They knew that a holy moment was continuing. And they weren’t ready for it to end. Though they weren’t playing games with Jesus, we discover that he was somewhat playing games with them, for when they came to Emmaus (which was about seven miles away from Jerusalem), they didn’t want this special time with this stranger to end. And Jesus, having hidden his identity from them already now pretends like he is going to keep going on the journey. And he makes them argue with him to get him to stay with them to eat.

These games that Jesus are playing actually have a point to them, they do have a meaning. By hiding his identity he is making the words he speaks more important. The disciples are able to focus on the message instead of the messenger. This is important because if they had known it was Jesus they were talking to, they wouldn’t have taken time to listen to what it was that he had to say… they would have been too excited by his mere presence. When Jesus appears to his other disciples, they spend the time figuring out whether it really is him, but Jesus needs to help his followers understand what this death and resurrection were all about. So he plays this game and hides his identity so that these two are not able to recognize him. And then, by making them ask him to stay with them, Jesus is helping them to realize how important the truths he is sharing with them truly are.

III. Recognition

But teaching and inspiring these disciples is not the end of the story. No, they still need to come to a point where they recognize their Lord and Savior. And it is when they eat with him that they recognize him. It is specifically when Jesus breaks bread that their eyes are opened to his true identity. What begins as a meal shared among strangers turns into Holy Communion for these disciples as they are reunited with their Lord.

Last week I talked about how Peter preached the first Easter sermon on Pentecost. Well, that may have been, but today we find the first Easter worship service. And it happens on Easter day itself. For what is this walk that these two disciples took if not a worship service? They discussed scripture, they applied it to their lives, they had the Word of God opened to them and they celebrated communion with their Savior. What began as a mere walk turned into a worship service; the sacred overtook the secular, the profound overtook the profane. Jesus took a seven mile walk and turned it into an encounter with the holy.

We as Christians tend to compartmentalize our lives. We let our Sunday mornings be our time of worship, our time to focus on God, and then we have the rest of the week to focus on everything else. God is a part of our lives, but then we put him away for the rest of the things we deal with, for our jobs, for our friends, for our school. But here we see that Jesus sometimes doesn’t want to be relegated to just our worship time. He wants to come into every part of our lives… even as we are walking down the road or talking to strangers… even as we sit down to eat together.

I encourage you this morning and every morning, to look for Jesus in the world. Don’t relegate him to Sunday mornings. Allow him to speak to you through strangers, allow him to join you as you and your family sit down together for food. Expect the regular parts of your day to turn into times of worship and communion with your God. Recognize the fact that God is active in every part of your life, that God is working through all the people you come in contact with, and that God just might even work through you. How are you going to react when a regular day turns into an encounter with your Savior? Are you going to invite him in to eat with you or are you going to send him on his way? I think of Revelation 3:20 where Jesus tells his church, his people, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.”

Often when we hear this verse we think it is about salvation, but Jesus is writing it to a church of people who are already Christian. He isn’t just talking about salvation, he is talking about relationship, he is talking about coming in for fellowship with his people. On the road to Emmaus we discover what this fellowship looks like and we see Jesus being revealed to his disciples as he eats with them. Let the word of God speak to you and teach you, let yourself be changed and affected by it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again to myself and to all seated here. If you aren’t letting the Bible change your mind about things then you aren’t really letting the Spirit of God work through scripture in your life. And then look for Jesus in the daily events of your life. Find God’s presence in the meeting with strangers. And invite Jesus in to eat with you, whether you recognize him or not. Build that fellowship with your Savior and Lord. Amen.